Taliban claim responsibility for bomb plot against Pakistan TV anchor

Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir talks with media outside his home in Islamabad on November 26, 2012.

Story highlights

The Pakistani Taliban say they planted the bomb

A bag containing explosives is found attached to Hamid Mir's car

He is an anchor on the television station Geo TV's prime time broadcast

"I will not stop telling the truth," Mir says following the attempt

The Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday claimed responsibility for a foiled plot to assassinate a high-profile television journalist by planting a bomb on his car.

Hamid Mir, a senior anchor on Geo TV's prime time programming, escaped the attempt on his life Monday when the bomb was found attached to the back of his car and disabled before it could cause any harm.

"We will continue targeting journalists who propagate a secular agenda and side with the government," Ihsanullah Ihsan, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said by telephone Tuesday.

Mir said he had gone to a busy market place in the heart of Islamabad "to run some errands" on Monday when the bomb was detected.

A police officer in Mir's security team saw a plastic bag containing half a kilo (about a pound) of explosives attached to the car and called the bomb disposal squad, which successfully defused the device, said Bin Yamin, the Islamabad police chief.